April 2008 Medal Newsletter

Auction News

We held our first auction of the calendar year on the 24th April. 697 lots went under the hammer, and despite concern about the current world wide credit climate, all appeared buoyant within the ‘Medal World’.

It is perhaps not surprising that the higher end of the market consistently goes from strength to strength, and possibly reflecting on the stock market situation, that there continues to be more new buyers at this level.

The sale commenced in the morning with a section dedicated to Single Campaign Medals. This section set the tone for what was to prove a day of many highlights. Within the first few lots it became apparent that the items would consistently achieve higher than the top estimate. To name but a few:

Lot 2 The Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, two clasps, Roleia and Vimeira to Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hervey Smith, who was wounded several times and taken prisoner during his military career, estimated at £1,600-1,800 realised £3,400 (£4,010).

Lot 8 The Defence of Jellalabad 1842, 2nd ‘Flying Victory’ type to Colour Sergeant Robert Hurst 13th Regiment, wounded at Joolgah, estimated at £1,000-1,200 realised £2,000 (£2,400)

Lot 35 The Scarce Two Clasps Undated Reverse British South Africa Company’s Medal to Trooper C.G. Laurie, British South Africa Company Police estimated at £800-1,000 realised 2,300 (£2,745) 

Lot 86 The Fine Two Clasp 1949 ‘Yangtze Incident’ N.G.S. to Ordinary Seaman G.A. Wright, H.M.S. Amethyst, Who Took Part in the Daring  Escape to Rejoin the Fleet, estimated at £1,600-1,800 realised £3,600 (£4,140)

The British Orders and Single Awards section, despite being modest in number still yielded strong results, especially lot 97 which was a particularly fine G.C.M.G. set of Insignia estimated at £2,400-2,800 which realised £4,600 (£5,390).

Next under the hammer were the Groups and Pairs with Orders or Decorations for Gallantry or Distinguished Service. Lot 107 The Highly Important G.C.B., K.B.E., Great War D.S.O., M.C. and Bar Group of Twenty-One to General Sir G.I. Thomas (featured on the back cover of the catalogue) went in line with top estimate realising £18,000 (£20,800).

The front cover piece, lot 108, The Superb and Rare C.B., Great War C.M.G., ‘Waziristan, 1894, Wana’ D.S.O. Group of Ten to Brigadier-General M.L. Hornby sold well above top estimate, realising £7,800 (£8,970).

With both the front and back covers of the catalogue now accounted for, another lot from this section which attracted several bidders was lot 116, The Important Great War D.S.O. Group of Seven to Colonel Sir T.A. Bradford, The Only Surviving Member of the ‘Bradford Boys’, The Most Decorated Family of the Great War: The Four Brothers Between Them Were Awarded Two V.C.’s, one D.S.O., Two M.C.’s, and were Thrice Mentioned in Despatches. With an estimate of £2,800-3,200 this lot was finally knocked down for £6,500 (£7,575).

The Campaign Groups and Pairs (lots 126-162) included the majority of the medals to the Raitt Family. These medals, from a fine military family, appeared on the market for the first time. The popularity of such ‘fresh’ material is always guaranteed among the collecting fraternity and this was particularly reflected in lot 126. The Well Documented Sultan’s Gold Medal For Egypt and M.G.S. Pair to Lieutenant-Colonel G.E. Raitt, Queen’s Royal Regiment was estimated at £4,500-5,000 and realised £7,800 (£9,070).

The last sizeable section (Lots 163-271) before the lunch break was from “The Property of a Gentleman” – Medal Groups Incorporating the 1914 Star, to the British Expeditionary Force. This collection had many varied casualties dates, and was replete with poignant stories surrounding the recipients. Estimated at £24,910-29,610 the collection sold for £37,480 (£44, 985).

The afternoon session commenced with an extensive collection (lots 302-666) of World Orders, Decorations and Medals. “The Property of a Lady”, formed over many years, included scarcities from many different nations. The Russian ‘Phenomenon’ continued to be consistent in this auction. The tone was set when the first (lot 581-a fine Alexander Nevsky Star) of the 23 lots of Russian related material from this collection was finally knocked down for £13,000 (£15,050). The estimate had been £3,000-3,500. The next 22 lots realised £99,420 (£114,433), with a pre-sale estimate of £19,360-24,060! 

Lot 602 A Fine and Rare Gold First Class Star of the Order of the Noble Bokhara, realised £24,000 (£27,700)

There were strong prices for other nations as well, with lots from Austria, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Romania, Serbia, Sweden and Turkey all featuring prominently:

Lot 312, Realised £8,000 (£9,300)

Lot 334, Realised £2,800 (£3,320)

Lot 357, Realised £3,000 (£3,550)

lot 362, Realised £2,600 (£3,090)

lot 405, Realised £9,500 (£11,025)

lot 422, Realised £8,000 (£9,300)

Lot 572, Realised £3,400 (£4,010)

Lot 649, Realised £3,500 (£4,125)

The sale ended with a section of other properties dedicated to Foreign Orders, Decorations and Medals. The latter included several more lots of Russian material, which performed in line with the strong prices of the earlier lots. The highlight of this section was lot 668, a Belgian Collar Chain of the Royal Order of the Lion.

Lot 668, Realised £7,000 (£8,150)  

Our next auction is on the 24th July and we will be accepting consignments for this sale until the 3rd week of May. Already consigned are a large number of medals from the naval themed collection of the late Lieutenant-Commander A.D. McLauchlan, M.B.E., more details of which along with other consignments will follow in May’s Newsletter.  

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PRICES REALISED

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MEDAL DEPARTMENT
Mark Quayle                                                    020 7563 4064
Oliver Pepys                                                     020 7563 4061
John Hayward (Consultant)                               020 7563 4049
Charles Webb (Militaria Consultant)                  020 7563 4092
Henry Meadows                                                020 7563 4050